The Center sponsors a Pilot and Feasibility grant program. The goal is to provide seed funding to investigators involved in cutting edge research related to the mission of the Center. The goal is to fund investigators who are new to the faculty or new to the field of molecular therapies relevant to NIDDK. Applications are solicited from the faculty and reviewed by external reviewers. Final funding decisions are made by the Program and Core Oversight Committee. We propose to continue the support of this program at a level consistent with awarding 2 grants a year at $40,000 per grant.